Mike Zimmer is finally a head coach in the NFL. The Minnesota Vikings think now is the time for
the veteran defensive coordinator.

The Vikings announced on Twitter last night that they had hired Zimmer for their head-coaching
job.

“I’m extremely excited to bring a championship to the state of Minnesota and to the great fan
base of the Vikings,” Zimmer said in a video posted on the team’s Twitter account. “I can’t wait to
get to work.”

Tight end Kyle Rudolph, center John Sullivan and defensive end Brian Robison were among the
players who expressed excitement about the former Cincinnati Bengals assistant via their Twitter
accounts.

“Fired up about Coach Zimmer! As a Cincy kid, he’s been fun to watch there and can’t wait to
work with him!” Rudolph tweeted.

For the Bengals, the news was bittersweet. Zimmer, who has been an NFL defensive coordinator for
the past 14 seasons, spent six of those with Cincinnati.

“Today is one of the happiest and yet saddest days for me. Happy Coach Zimm finally gets to be a
head coach and spread all of his knowledge,” cornerback Terence Newman tweeted.

The Bengals were third in the league in yards allowed and fifth in points against this
season.

Zimmer replaces Leslie Frazier, who was fired on Dec. 30 after the Vikings finished 5-10-1.

General manager Rick Spielman interviewed at least seven candidates. He and Vikings owners Zygi
Wilf and Mark Wilf settled on the one who was widely considered around the league to be the most
overdue for a head-coaching job.

Zimmer became defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys in 2000 and spent seven seasons at
that post.

After one year as the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, Zimmer went to Cincinnati
to work for coach Marvin Lewis. In 2009, when his wife, Vikki, unexpectedly died, Zimmer was named
the winner of several NFL assistant coach of the year awards.

Zimmer has a fiery personality, as evidenced by his profanity-laced appearances on HBO’s
Hard Knocks, which featured the Bengals in 2009 and 2013. That overt intensity is a
contrast to Frazier, who went 21-33-1 in three-plus seasons.

Browns owner details coach search in letter

Browns owner Jimmy Haslam is asking Cleveland fans to be patient as he looks to replace the
coach he fired after one season.

With criticism growing as the search drags on, Haslam sent a letter to fans in which he
explained the Browns’ “methodical” hunt for a “strong coach.”

Haslam fired Rob Chudzinski last month following a 4-12 season, forcing the Browns to look for
their seventh full-time coach since 1999 and fourth in six years.

The owner said the team has spoken to a “number of outstanding candidates” and indicated he and
CEO Joe Banner will meet with assistant coaches currently in the NFL playoffs.

“We have purposefully been very methodical in our approach,” Haslam said in the letter posted on
the team’s website. “We believe it is very important to stay disciplined to this process and to
interview all of the candidates on our list. We are strongly committed to finding the right person
to coach the Cleveland Browns.”

There have been rumblings that the Browns have been spurned by candidates and are fixated on
hiring Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase.

Buffalo confirmed last night that it had granted the Browns permission to interview Bills
defensive coordinator Mike Pettine.